A perfect Sunday during the Holiday Season...

painting by Loren Blackburn

So Jeff and I had a great day yesterday. We started off with going to breakfast at Sutton's Marketplace in Queensbury. We don't go to Sutton's too often (We have our normal Saturday routine of heading to Poopies for breakfast!), but Jeff's mom asked us out to eat so we ventured over there.

If you haven't been to Sutton's, it is a must-see during the holiday season.

Luckily, there is always a wait for the cafe so there is time to browse through the store. If you can't find a gift for someone in your list here, you aren't looking hard enough! I picked up a great ornament for my friend Chrissy's new baby. They have a whole line of those glass-blown ornaments by Old World Christmas. This is a picture of the ornament. It does not do it justice because the sparkle is just breathtaking! i know she'll love it for baby Graham.

photo courtesy of www.christmasplace.com

After breakfast, we hit the outlets up in Lake George for a couple of items and then headed back to downtown Glens Falls to continue our shopping.

It was a bit chilly out, but the sun was shining in downtown Glens Falls. Our first stop was Kismet. Kismet is such a fabulous store!!! It is owned & run by two of Jeff's High School classmates. They have put together the nicest array of gifts. You'll soon be able to shop online, but check out their site for a list of items they carry. I love the Dogeared Jewelry and The Teaposy teas. Kismet even offers knitting lessons..Maybe someday I'll get crafty and give it a try!

Now you would think that Kismet is a girl's dream and a guy's nightmare, right? Well they make shopping a stress-free experience for the men. Customers can create wish lists and the girls at Kismet will email them to the recipient of your choice. You can call and they will package up a nice gift based on your preferences and budget, gift wrap it all, and you can just stop and pick it up!! It's too easy. You must stop by!

photo courtesy of www.kismetgf.com

Next, we headed over to another favorite- Sterling & Company. I can't leave this store without buying something! they have a kitchen selection of kitchen gifts, jewelry, and Mariposa products. The back of the store has really nice baby gifts too. The woman who owns it (I should know her name since I go in there A LOT!) is always so cheery and helpful. It just makes for a
great shopping experience. I did leave with some blood orange & fennel tapenade for my mother (sounds random but it was delicious!) so I hope she likes it! the carry the entire line from

The Gracious Gourmet. I wanted to buy it all!

 

photo courtesy of The Gracious Gourmet

Our final stop of the afternoon was visiting the renovated Crandall Public Library in downtown Glens Falls. the Libray just did a huge renovation and it had its grand opening on Friday night. It was absolutely beautiful inside. I am trying to find some pictures to post but not having good luck! There is even self checkout now which made grabbing a book really easy. I picked up Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. I read one of her books, My Sister's Keeper, over the summer and couldn't put it down. I'm excited to read another one!

photo courtesy of www.jodipicoult.com

So overall, it was a great afternoon. I had some relaxing time with Jeff, we ate great food, finished our holiday shopping, and enjoyed the day. More to come soon!!

The Excitement of Fall in the Adirondacks!

So last weekend, Jeff & I attended the 36th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival up here in Queensbury. Now Jeff grew up here in Glens Falls, so attending the festival was an annual tradition for him as a child. I have only been a few times, and a couple of them had bad weather so the balloons didn't go up.

Well that was not the case this year!! We got up early (Dunkin Donuts in hand) and went over to the local airport at 6am. It was a misty morning but the perfect weather for a balloon launch. So many balloons go up, including special ones like the bees shown below. It's amazing!

After watching all of them go, we went over to our favorite local diner, Poopies, to have breakfast. It was the perfect fall activity. Enjoy the photos!

The adventures of August & September

Let's see, Jeff and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary in August! We couldn't believe that 5 years went by so fast!! We enjoyed a fantastic day that started with breakfast at the Sagamore in Bolton Landing. It was a beautiful morning, perfect for lounging around the resort. Here are a couple of photos:

That night, we were treated to an amazing dinner at 677 Prime with Laura & Tom. We had such a great meal and a fun time with them, it was the nicest gift ever! We had enough food for 8 people on our table. It was so much fun!

Rocking out on Rockport, MA!

So Jeff and I enjoyed a little New England weekend back during the 3rd week of July. We went out to Rockport, MA, a childhood vacation spot that never disappoints. Rockport is truly a artist colony, with many picturesque spots to pretend you are a painter or photographer.

In addition to the scenery, we enjoy many places to dine while we are in Rockport.

On Friday night, we went to Ellen's Harborside . I loved going here as a child (mainly because of the face-painted lobster claws they had hanging on the wall- still do). But their food is great too! Jeff had the stuffed lobster and it didn't disappoint! He was a very happy camper.

We also stopped at a new place called Top Dog of Rockport. Top Dog sells hot dogs but it was way better than your normal frank..These dogs have toppings to say the least!!! I had the "golden Retriever" and Jeff had the "Bad Dog." They were awesome and the perfect "light" lunch as we wandered through Bearskin Neck.

One thing you need to do if you are visiting the Rockport/Gloucester Area is "dine in the rough." The Lobster Pool lets you do just that! Get ready to wait in line for this place but it's a lot of fun..It's simple seafood but they know how to do it just right. One of their specialities is a "no mayo" lobster roll...There is mayo, but it's light because it's overstuffed with lobster meat...Yummy!

Now, if you are in Rockport, you need to drive about 10 minutes and visit Gloucester. Gloucester is a true fishing village. If you ever saw the movie "the Perfect Storm," it was based on Gloucester fishermen.

The Fishermen's Memorial is a great sight to see:

But of course, I have another restaurant to mention. the Causeway Restaurant in Gloucester is off the beaten track and a hidden gem!! You will absolutely wait in line here, but you'll enjoy the time talking to locals..that's right, this is a great LOCAL place..They practically give the food away for free and the portions are huge and tasty! I had the calamari and Jeff had surf & turf..We both also had chowder and our bill was $40!! Enjoy the photos!

Before I end this note, I wanted to mention the beautiful B & B we stayed in this year. The Beach & King Street Inn was amazing! We stayed in the King Room and it looks just like the photos on the web. Located right across the street from the beach, we couldn't ask for more! We'll be back next year for sure!

Our love of Food..

Hello all, Jeff & I have decided to turn our blog into a great place about food! We love to try new restaurants so we thought we would share our experiences online here. Keep an eye out for some fresh new posts!